“What do you want to be when you grow up?” This is a question we ask children all the time and they always have an answer or two to give you without hesitation.
Try asking 5 adults who know you well enough to not call Mental Health Services or 911 when you pose this question to them. I will predict that at least 2 of them will say “I don’t know”, or “I’m not going to grow up”. Same answer really, one’s just in the form of a joke. Someone asked me last week what my dream job was- basically the same question in another form. Since “I’m not going to grow up” doesn’t work for that one I answered “I’d love to get paid to play on Facebook all day long but no one’s offered me that position yet”. I’ve also used “Professional Bon Jovi Groupie” to answer those kinds of questions. More jokey answers that made everyone laugh but didn’t really answer the question at hand.
I must confess that I love the job I have now. My work is different every day and I can see real results from the efforts I put in. I have supervisors who trust me to organize my daily work as I see fit, who take the time to let me know they think I’m going a good job, and who actually care about me as a human being and not just as a company drone. I can honestly say it’s the best job I’ve ever had and I intend to keep doing it for a long time. But I don’t know if I would go so far as to call it a “dream job” even though it’s a lot like what I describe as my “dream job” during job interviews. Let’s face it- no child ever says “I want to work in a fabric covered box for 40 hours a week” when asked about their career ambitions!
I can honestly say that I have no desire to be the President of my company, the nation or of anything else. I don’t have a burning desire to start my own company nor do I believe I possess the right skill set to do so successfully. I don’t think I have an idea that will revolutionize the planet. Do I have dreams? Sure I do. But most of them aren’t about work.
So am I lacking in ambition? I don’t think so. I do try everyday that I’m at work to do my job well and to see my company succeed. I try to be the best wife, cat mom, friend, aunt, sister, etc. that I can be.
Maybe there is no such thing as a “dream job”- at least not for me. After all, Facebook would get boring after a few hours and being on the road all the time would be tiresome and lonely. As long as I’m happy where I am and who I am I think I’m right where I need to be.